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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29305281">The Loss of a Family</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mae01/pseuds/Mae01'>Mae01</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Marauders Modern AU [40]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Best Friends, Established Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, F/M, Fanfiction, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Heartbreaking, M/M, Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Modern Marauders (Harry Potter), One Shot, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Remus Lupin &amp; Lily Evans Potter Friendship, Remus Lupin Needs a Hug, wolfstar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:00:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,404</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29305281</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mae01/pseuds/Mae01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sirius and Remus are having problems but won't tell James and Lily what the problem is.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How did your talk with Remus going?”<br/>“I think about as good as your talk with Sirius went. What are we supposed to do?”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harry Potter &amp; James Potter &amp; Lily Evans Potter, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Remus Lupin &amp; Harry Potter, Remus Lupin &amp; James Potter, Remus Lupin &amp; Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black &amp; Harry Potter, Sirius Black &amp; James Potter, Sirius Black &amp; Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black &amp; Remus Lupin &amp; Harry Potter, Sirius Black &amp; Remus Lupin &amp; Harry Potter &amp; James Potter &amp; Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black &amp; Remus Lupin &amp; James Potter, Sirius Black &amp; Remus Lupin &amp; James Potter &amp; Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Marauders Modern AU [40]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138295</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>73</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Loss of a Family</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a stand-alone work. There are other stories in the universe, but you do not need to read other stories to understand this one.</p>
<p>I do not own any Harry Potter characters all characters belong to JK Rowling.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>Remus and Lily had arranged for them and their husbands to have a wine night while Harry was over at a friend’s house for the night. It’s not that they didn’t have wine nights when Harry was around, but Harry was now a teenager and he was easily embarrassed by his parents and uncles drunk flirting and talking. Harry loved listening to their stories and when they were tipsier than usual, they would spill more stories whether it was a good or bad influence. They were more entertaining but also just more cringy. So when Harry had asked to go to a friend’s house for a night, the adults would allow themselves to let go a bit more than usual. </p>
<p>“So,” Remus said as he relaxed next to his husband on the Potter’s couch. “How do you both deal with Harry getting older and not being asleep by 9 pm anymore? Does that cut into the activities we both know you would prefer to do rather than sleeping?”</p>
<p>“Remus!” Sirius exclaimed. “You can’t just ask them that! Have some tact at least!”</p>
<p>“Sirius, my dear. Would I really be myself if I asked questions with a warning?" Remus and Lily laughed at their husbands’ reaction to Remus’s question. Sirius looked like he shouldn’t have let Remus have a third glass of wine and looked like he was preparing to be kicked out of the house whereas James was blushing bright red and avoiding looking at the others’ faces.</p>
<p>“Well,” Lily started. “It used to-”</p>
<p>“Please stop!” both partners exclaimed. </p>
<p>“I don’t want to hear about my brother’s sex life!” Sirius cried while James exclaimed, “I don’t want my brother to know about my sex life!”</p>
<p>“I’ll tell you later than, Remus,” Lily started with a roll of her eyes. “I feel like we need to keep the topics child friendly even when my son isn’t here. We chose wussy husbands.”</p>
<p>“That we did, Lil’s.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>As the evening progressed, Remus and Lily would start certain topics and James and Sirius would cut them off before any details could be released about their brothers’ lives. At one point, James and Sirius decided to go play a couple of games of Mario Cart while Lily and Remus stayed on the couches and talked some more.</p>
<p>“So tell me the truth,” Lily started. “How is the marriage going? You told me the other month that you both were having some troubles but wouldn’t tell me what was going on.”</p>
<p>“We are still struggling, but it’s okay.”</p>
<p>“Remus...”</p>
<p>“It’s okay, really. It’s nothing you need to know about or be concerned about right now.”</p>
<p>“But do you need someone to talk to about it?”</p>
<p>“That part doesn’t matter I don’t think.”</p>
<p>“Do you talk about it together at least?”</p>
<p>“Not really, but that’s okay. We will get through it.”</p>
<p>“How are you supposed to get through it if you can’t talk about it?”</p>
<p>“What do you mean?”</p>
<p>“I mean, how are you supposed to get through this rough patch if you just ignore it. If you can’t talk to someone about it and you don’t talk to each other about it then nothing is going to change.”</p>
<p>“Lily, really it’s not that bad. I think we both need to just get over it and it’ll sort itself out.”</p>
<p>“Rem-”</p>
<p>“Please, can we change the topic? I’m done talking about this.”</p>
<p>“Remus, I can’t just drop this conversation. You’re my brother and you can’t hide the pain you’re in. I just want to help and it won’t help if I just let this keep going.”</p>
<p>“Okay. Listen, I think I’m just going to head home. I’ll go let Sirius know that I’m heading back and then I’ll head out. Thank you for opening your house to us again tonight, I’ll see you later.” With a quick kiss to her cheek, Remus got up and walked to the room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>When James and Sirius had left their spouses and closed the door, James started talking as they set Mario Cart up.</p>
<p>“How are things going with Moony?”</p>
<p>“What do you mean? Things are good.”</p>
<p>“Padfoot?”</p>
<p>“Yes?”</p>
<p>“How stupid do you think I am?”</p>
<p>“Is that a trick question?”</p>
<p>“I know that although you and Remus were sitting close tonight that there is a lot of tension between you two. Do you care to explain what’s going on?”</p>
<p>“Nothing is going on. Are you ready to start the race?” As Sirius started the game, James couldn’t figure out what to say. It was obvious that Sirius didn’t want to talk about it, but there had been something going on between Remus and Sirius for at least a month and it wasn’t getting better. Deciding that he should keep pushing, James started talking as the race started.</p>
<p>“Sirius, something is going on. I’ve talked to Lily, and she has noticed something off as well between the two of you. Since she doesn’t have any idea what it is, the only thing we know that it is serious enough for Remus to not tell her. So I ask again, what is going on?”</p>
<p>“James. I need you to drop this, okay?” Before James could reply, the door opened and Remus walked in.</p>
<p>“Hey, Sirius?”</p>
<p>“What’s up, Rem?”</p>
<p>“I’m not feeling the best so I’m going to head back home and I just thought I’d let you know.”</p>
<p>“Do you want me to come with you?”</p>
<p>“No, I’m alright. You stay as long as you want. I don’t want to take you from your brother.” After throwing a small smile towards James and giving Sirius a kiss, Remus left.</p>
<p>“Sirius...”</p>
<p>“James, I am trying really hard to be patient and to not snap at you for questioning me. If you continue this conversation then I think I will also head home.”</p>
<p>“What type of brother would I be if I saw you suffering and just let it keep going? I can’t do that, Sirius.” </p>
<p>Looking at his brother, Sirius studied his face before putting his controller down and standing up.</p>
<p>“If you just let it keep going,” Sirius started, “then you would be a Black brother. I’ll see you later, James.”</p>
<p>Once James heard the front door shut, he walked downstairs and sat beside his wife on the couch.</p>
<p>“How did your talk with Remus going?”</p>
<p>“I think about as good as your talk with Sirius went. What are we supposed to do?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know, dear. I honestly don’t know how to help.”</p>
<p>“Me neither. I don’t even have an idea about what it could be about.”</p>
<p>“I guess we just have to sit back and watch it all happen?”</p>
<p>“I guess so. You’ll tell me if you have an idea what it is?”</p>
<p>“I will. You’ll do the same?”</p>
<p>“Of course.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Are you alright, Moons?” Sirius questioned as he walked into their bedroom and sat down beside his husband.</p>
<p>“I could be better. You?”</p>
<p>“I could also be better.”</p>
<p>Remus looked at Sirius for a long moment. They were struggling, there was no denying that. After looking at him, he pulled back the covers and patted the spot beside him for his husband to sit with him. With a small smile, Sirius walked to the other side of the bed and crawled in to sit beside him. They weren’t mad at each other, maybe that was what James and Lily thought though. But no, they were struggling through something together and they weren’t ready to bring other people into the problem, not even if those people were their family.</p>
<p>“James tried to talk to me about what’s going on.”</p>
<p>“Lily tried to talk to me as well.”</p>
<p>It was funny, honestly. It wasn’t that they were mad that James and Lily were trying to help, they knew they would corner them separately at some point but they hoped it wasn’t tonight. Their struggle started about three months ago and they had kept James and Lily off their back about it for this long so they didn’t expect it to be put off any longer but they thought they could have one more wine night without a disaster occurring.</p>
<p>“What should we do?” Remus questioned with his head bowed. “I just, I’m not ready for them to know and if they know then it actually becomes real.”</p>
<p>“Babe...”</p>
<p>“I know, I need to accept it but I just really don’t want to. Sirius, I really just don’t want to believe what they told us.” The tears started to trail down Remus’ face. He felt his heart clench in his chest and it hurt to breathe. His breaths started coming out more harsh and the sound of his husband weeping made Sirius start to cry. They had finally gotten to a good place and they were happy with their decision and then this news came along and broke down their dreams. Their dreams that they built so high and so beautiful came crashing down and they now laid broken at their feet. There was nothing they could do about it except accept the news and move on. They had to let go of this dream so they could finally breathe.</p>
<p>“I know, love. I know.” Sirius took his husband in his arms and pulled him close to his chest. He could feel his partner shake with his falling tears and could feel him try to take deep breaths but all he could do was sit there and allow his husband to cry and cry with him. “I won’t say it’s okay because it isn’t. We wanted this so badly and then it was ripped from us. I’m so so sorry, love. Just let it all out.” Remus kept crying loudly while Sirius silently cried while holding his shaking husband. After an hour of crying, the sounds from the room died but they were both still wide awake. They weren’t in the mood to sleep but they didn’t want to do anything. They just wanted to forget everything.</p>
<p>“Pads?”</p>
<p>“What is it, love?”</p>
<p>“Do we have any ice cream in the freezer?”</p>
<p>“I don’t think so. Do you want me to make a quick trip to the 24-hour store and pick some up?”</p>
<p>“You don’t have to, it’s late.”</p>
<p>“I don’t have to, but I can. You go put a movie on downstairs and I’ll get some ice cream.”</p>
<p>As Sirius left the house to go to the store, he could see the Potter’s sitting on their porch swing. Realizing they had seen him, he gives them a quick wave before putting his head down and walking down the street. He hoped they didn’t think he just walked out on Remus, but he knew that it was likely they thought that. He could feel their stares on his back as he continued walking down the street. Sirius allowed himself to get lost in his thoughts until he realized he was back at the end of his driveway with the bag in his hand. Looking up to see if he was still being watched, he saw James and Lily in the same spot on their porch as when he left. He saw them exchange a look before James slowly stood up and started to walk towards him. Realizing that James wanted to talk, Sirius shook his head and walked quickly to his front door before closing it behind him and turning off their outside lights. He couldn’t deal with questions right now, he just needed to be with his husband and that’s all he wanted to do tonight.</p>
<p>“I put on Pitch Perfect, is that okay? I just needed a nonthinking movie.”</p>
<p>“Of course. Have either of us received any messages while I was gone? I left my phone here.”</p>
<p>“Weird that you ask that, Lily texted me wondering if I was okay almost as soon as I heard you left. What was that about?”</p>
<p>“James and Lily were on their porch swing when I left and I think they thought I was walking out on you and then when I came back James looked like he wanted to talk and then I may have sped up the steps and turned the outside lights off.” This comment gave Remus a little laugh. It was the first laugh he gave at home since the news three months ago. It brought a smile to Sirius’ face.</p>
<p>As the two sat and watched the movie and ate ice cream, they realized that they should talk. Turning the volume down, Remus leaned his head on Sirius’ shoulder and started talking.</p>
<p>“Sirius? I need you to say it.”</p>
<p>“Rem… Are you sure?”</p>
<p>“I need to hear you say it. I need to hear you say the words and I need you to say them so I start believing them.”</p>
<p>“Once I say them, you know this will get harder and you might break. We talked about this. Once I say it, we are both going to tell James and Lily that we need a week off. We will have to text Harry that we need to cancel our weekly meets and we are going to spend a week being mad, hurt, angry, bitter, and it’s not going to be pretty. Are you sure you want this?”</p>
<p>“I am. I need to start moving on and I can’t do that if I don’t hear the words.” Looking at his husband’s face, Sirius studied him to make sure he wasn’t lying and that this was what he wanted. After seeing the truth in his eyes, Sirius sent three quick texts to James, Lily and Harry telling them that they wouldn’t be available to talk for the next week before putting their phones down and grabbing Remus’ hand.</p>
<p>“You need to look at me, Rem. I need you to look at me when I say this.” When Sirius said this, that was when the tears started again. Looking away from his lap, Remus made eye contact and nodded his head. “Tell me you’re ready.”</p>
<p>“I’m ready,” Remus said with a broken voice.</p>
<p>“Remus, when you were attacked by Fenrir Greyback at the age of 14, you suffered a lot of injuries and bodily trauma. This caused you to be infertile. Remus, you are infertile.”<br/>This is when the dams broke on both Sirius and Remus. The tears started and the sound of weeping filled the quiet house. Both men collapsed and held each other as close as they could. Their chests aches and their heads hurt. Their dreams of building a family were crushed and they would not be able to have a baby Remus Lupin. Sirius had made it clear from the very beginning of the process that he did not want any kids made with his DNA. When they started discussing building a family by having a donor egg and a surrogate mother, they had promised that no matter what that Sirius would have no biological part in it. Remus had promised him that. </p>
<p>When they started discussing the possibility of building a family six months ago, they had agreed and disagreed on a lot of things. There were only two things that they agreed on right away. The first thing they agreed on was that if she was able to and wanted to, Lily would be the surrogate mother. The second thing was that only Remus’ DNA would be used for their future child(ren). They had agreed that they wanted biological children. It wasn’t that they believed children who were adopted were loved less, it was rather that they wanted to be able to have one of their own. It had been a dream of theirs’ and when they completed the process and the only thing that was left was waiting on the medical test results, Remus and Sirius were getting ready to ask Lily and James. The day before they were going to ask, they got a call to meet to discuss the medical results. That call was three months ago and it had changed everything. James and Lily didn’t have any idea that Remus and Sirius had even thought about having a family and that’s why they weren’t ready to tell them what was going on. If they wanted to tell them what was wrong, they would have to start from the very beginning and that was six months ago.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>James and Lily were worried. When they saw Sirius walk out of his house at 11 pm, they thought they were giving up and then Remus wouldn’t answer her text. 20 minutes later, Sirius was back at his driveway and James went to go talk to him but Sirius shook his head and then turned off his porch light. Then, just after midnight, they both received a text saying that they both would be unavailable for the week both for work and for hanging out. They knew that their friends were home, but they respected their wishes to not be seen or talked to. Yet that didn’t stop them from trying to catch a glimpse of them in their shared backyard or when they walked past the front window. When Harry had gotten home the next day, he had told his parents that Uncle Padfoot had texted him and told him that his weekly hang out with his uncles would have to be cancelled this week. That worried James and Lily more because even when Remus or Sirius didn’t want to talk to either of them they would still usually meet with Harry.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The week continued and Sunday bled into Wednesday and Wednesday became Saturday. When Remus and Sirius woke up on Saturday, they felt okay. They were not good or even close to good, but Remus felt like he could breathe a bit. It still hurt, but he could breathe a little easier and he could think for more than ten minutes before crying. He was okay.</p>
<p>“Sirius?”</p>
<p>“Yes, Moons?”</p>
<p>“Would you be okay if… oh nevermind,” Remus said before making his way to get out of bed. He didn’t get up much before his husband grabbed his arm and made him fall back onto the bed which caused them both to laugh.</p>
<p>“Nope, you started this. What’s up?”</p>
<p>“I was just wondering if you would be okay if I invite Harry over to help me make some cookies? I know we were planning on spending the whole week together just the two of us but-”</p>
<p>“Rem, love, it’s okay. I think inviting Harry over to help you make some cookies would be good. Do you plan on telling him anything?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know. I mean, he knows most of my past including the event that caused this problem but I don’t think I want him to find out when his parents do because that’s going to be really hard on them. He’s almost 17 but I don’t want him finding out with his parents. But should I tell him before or after? When should we tell James and Lily?”</p>
<p>“How about I invite them over for lunch tomorrow? If you tell Harry today then he can do whatever when we tell them tomorrow. If you don’t tell him today then you or both of us can tell him later this week. How does that sound?”</p>
<p>“That sounds good. Are you going to be here while we make cookies?”</p>
<p>“I might, but I’ll leave you and Prongslet on your own.”</p>
<p>“Thank you, Pads. I really appreciate this.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>(<strong>Bold is Remus</strong> / <em>Italic is Harry</em>)</p>
<p>9:08 am: <strong>Good Morning, Pup. How are you doing? If you are free today, I was wondering if you would like to help me make some cookies this afternoon and play a game of checkers?</strong></p>
<p>9:12 am: <em>Good Morning Uncle Moony! I am doing well. How are you? I would love to, what time works for you?</em></p>
<p>9:13 am: <strong>I am alright. How about 11 am? Will that give you enough time to get out of bed and be awake?</strong></p>
<p>9:14 am: <em>You know me too well. Yes, I can get out of bed and be over at 11 am. See you soon!</em></p>
<p>9:15 am: <strong>Perfect. I will see you soon.</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sirius?”</p>
<p>“Yes?”</p>
<p>“Harry will be over at 11 am.”</p>
<p>“Sounds good. You call me if you need anything, alright? And I texted James and he said that lunch tomorrow sounds good.”</p>
<p>“Thank you, I will.“</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>As 11 am rolled around, Remus had the ingredients out and had two cups of coffee on the counter. When a knock on the door sounded, Remus opened it and greeted his godson with a hug. Harry was almost as tall as Remus at 17, but Remus still had two inches on him but would probably be shorter than him in just a number of months. As Remus lead Harry in, he started a conversation.</p>
<p>“So, Harry, how was your week?”</p>
<p>“It was quiet. I’ve got just a couple of months left before I graduate so it’s busy but the house was quiet this week.”</p>
<p>“Harry, I’m sor-”</p>
<p>“Uncle Moony, it’s alright. As much as I hated not seeing you and Uncle Padfoot, I kinda figured something was going and I got confirmation when I saw you this morning.”</p>
<p>“Care to explain how you got a confirmation?”</p>
<p>“No offence, but you look like shit, Uncle Moony,” Harry said with a laugh.</p>
<p>“You know,” Remus said with a smile. “I should scold you for swearing but I have more of a sailors mouth than you.”</p>
<p>“No way, I swear more than mum and she’s your best friend.”</p>
<p>“Oh, pup,” Remus laughed. “I was the one who taught your mum how to swear. I swear too damn much. You should know by now I am an awful influence.” With a wink, Remus and Harry started mixing the ingredients and started their baking. 45 minutes later, they were sitting at the counter island with new cups of coffee and freshly baked cookies.</p>
<p>“So, Harry. There’s something I need to tell you.”</p>
<p>“Is this about what was going on over the past couple of months?”</p>
<p>“You’re very observant, but yes.”</p>
<p>“What can I say? You’re an awful influence on me and you are the most observant person I know. Do my parents know yet?”</p>
<p>“They don’t know yet. Sirius and I are going to tell them after lunch tomorrow but I didn’t think you would want to be there because it’s going to be very uncomfortable.” As Remus dived into the story, Harry sat patiently and listened. It hurt Harry to hear his uncle in this much pain. His uncle was one of the best things that happened to him and he had more than his fair share of trials in life. Harry had secretly hoped that his uncles would build a family at some point, but deep down he was happy when it never happened because he had his uncles all to himself. Now, however, Harry felt guilty for his past happiness over them not having kids. He knew that he had no way of knowing then that they would never have kids, but he wished they had been able to have a child. When Remus had finished talking, Harry could do nothing but lean over and give his uncle a hug.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, Uncle Moony. I wish things were different for you.”</p>
<p>“Thank you, pup. I had wished that things were different, but I have to be honest with you. Harry, when you were born I knew that I would treat you like a son. You may not be my son, but I love you as much as I would have loved a child of my own. You’ve kept me going in a lot of different times and this would be harder if I didn’t have you.”</p>
<p>“I love you, Uncle Moony.”</p>
<p>“I love you too, Harry.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>When James and Lily saw their son come home, they immediately started asking questions but stopped when they recognized a specific habit their son had picked up. Harry raised his hand and they stopped talking. Harry had picked up this habit from his Uncle Moony and as much as they tried to break the habit, it never broke. So now at 17 years of age, Harry stops his parents from ranting with a raise of his hand just like his uncle.</p>
<p>“Uncle Moony is okay. He is not good and he isn’t close to good. He’s struggling but he will tell you tomorrow after lunch. He told me today because he said that if I was in the room with the four of you tomorrow then I would be uncomfortable with the reactions and, frankly, after hearing what it was I agree. It is not my story to tell and you both just need to wait.”</p>
<p>“... Well fine then,” Lily said. She couldn’t push for her son to tell her what they would hear in less than 24 hours no matter how badly she wanted to. “Was it a good time at least?”</p>
<p>“It was. It was nice seeing him again although I did tell him he looked like shit less than a minute after I walked in-”</p>
<p>“Harry James Potter!” Lily yelled as her husband fell to the floor in laughter.</p>
<p>“I wasn’t wrong!”</p>
<p>“But you shouldn’t have said that!”</p>
<p>“He brought it up! I told him I thought he was struggling and then when I saw him that he confirmed it and he asked how he confirmed it so I told him! He walked into it. If you and he have taught me anything it’s to seize opportunity whenever possible.” As soon as Harry finished speaking, Lily was rendered speechless so Harry gave her a kiss on her cheek and ran up the stairs to his room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>As soon as everyone had finished lunch the next day, Harry stood up and gave his parents and uncles hugs before going back to his house, leaving them to talk. James and Lily looked at each other as the atmosphere in the room shifted and their friends motioned for them to go sit in the living room.</p>
<p>“So...” Lily started. “Harry said you would tell us what was going on today?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Remus said grabbing his husband's hand in a tight grip. “You both are going to need to be patient and wait until we finish talking before saying anything. We need to tell you both and if you interrupt then we may not be able to finish. Okay?”</p>
<p>“Of course, man,” James said with a confused smile as his wife nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>“I guess I’ll start the story,” Sirius said. “The story starts six months ago.” After taking a quick look at his friends’ faces, he laughed a little bit. “I know, we kept it between the two of us for the time being. Anyways, about six months ago Moony and I discussed the desire to build a family. After about a month of discussing, we agreed to move forward with the process. I have never wanted to have an offspring with my DNA so we quickly agreed on using Remus’ DNA and a donor egg. We promised each other that we would only have a child if they could have Remus’ DNA. Everything was almost ready to go and then something happened three months ago. Do you remember the dinner we had planned that we cancelled because something came up?” After both James and Lily nodded, Remus took over the story.</p>
<p>“We were planning on asking that night if Lily would be the surrogate mother and if that would be okay with you both. All we were waiting on was the medical test results.” Remus looked up from his lap to see Lily close to tears with a smile on her face and James also smiling but also seeming to be confused. James probably knew that it wasn’t good news that they received. “We got a call the day before to go in and discuss the results with the doctor. This was a normal part of the process so we didn’t think anything of it. When we got there,” Remus had to stop. He needed to breathe and he needed to tell his family what had happened. He felt his husband's arm go around him and Remus took a deep breath before continuing. “When we arrived at the office, the doctor gave us the news. When Fenrir Greyback almost killed me when I was 14, something happened.” As Remus said the man's name, he could hear a quiet gasp come from Lily as well as James. “The trauma my body went through caused me to be infertile and then our dream of having kids came down. We were given that news three months ago but I didn’t want to tell anyone because once we told you both and Harry, then it would be real. I told Sirius that I needed time to think. When I had finally accepted the truth, I told Sirius that I would tell him to tell me what the doctor said and then we could grieve together. We would spend a week just the two of us and grieve. Until then, I kept living in denial and just wanted to believe that the doctor was wrong. When we left your house last week, Sirius left to get ice cream and then I told him to tell me. He sent the texts to you both and Harry before putting our phones away and he told me.”</p>
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<p>When Remus finished, he wiped his tears and looked up at his husband and then to his best friends. His best friends had tears streaming down their faces as well and Remus only had a second before Lily flung herself at him and James pulled Sirius in for a hug. They sat there and cried for what felt like hours but was maybe only half an hour. Once they were all cried out, Lily decided to break the silence as she sat back down in her seat.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry we weren’t there for you both.”</p>
<p>“Little Red,” Sirius started with a small smile. “We love you both but this was something we needed to do on our own. We were hoping to surprise you both with the news but after what the doctor told us, we needed to process by ourselves before involving our family.”</p>
<p>“We understand, Pads. We are still sorry that you and Moony aren’t able to move forward with this. I’m sorry that we wouldn’t drop the topic though, we thought you were having marriage problems.”</p>
<p>“Believe me, Prongs. Sirius and I knew that when we got home that night and laughed when he told me he shut our porch light off on you. He assumed that you both that he was walking out on me.”</p>
<p>“I mean, we didn’t really know what to think. We knew you both were struggling and then Sirius walks out of the house at 11 pm.”</p>
<p>“We’re sorry we kept it from you both for so long, but I just wasn’t ready to accept it yet.”</p>
<p>“Rem,” Sirius said. “You needed that time. If I thought you didn’t I would have fought you about not telling them. You’ve lost a lot because of that man, at some point you just need to break.”</p>
<p>“James and I aren’t mad, love. We are happy you told us but also very sorry our son said you looked like shit when he hadn’t seen you in a week.”</p>
<p>“Wait wait, Prongslet said you looked like shit?” Sirius laughed. “Moony, you are an awful influence on that kid!”</p>
<p>“Oh, I know! I told him that and he agreed. He laughed and said I was an awful influence but that he loved me.”</p>
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<p>The group of friends laughed together and stayed on the couch for another two hours before James and Lily got up to leave. Before Lily followed her husband out the door, she pulled Remus into a hug before whispering in his ears.</p>
<p>“I love you, Rem. If you need me or you just need a break and want me to bring you dinner, you just let me know. You aren’t alone in this and I’m here for you. You were there for me during my miscarriage and I will be here for you through this loss. Take care, my love.” With a kiss to his cheek, she followed her husband to her house.</p>
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